Bill Maher Plots To Oust A House Republican

Comedian Bill Maher pillories Republicans every week on his HBO show, but apparently that’s not enough: Now he wants to take it to the next level and target a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for defeat.

As the New York Times reports, the host of “Real Time With Bill Maher” intends to reveal his plan on his show Friday night. First he’ll seek input from viewers in selecting the worst House representative in the country. Once that person is chosen, he’ll use his show to highlight bad things the lawmaker has done and occasionally visit his or her district to do stand-up comedy and sway voters ahead of the congressional elections in November.

“This year, we are going to be entering into the exciting world of outright meddling with the political process,” Maher told the Times.

His show will call the project the “flip the district” campaign. The show’s executive producer, Scott Carter, told the paper that “with our viewers voting, I imagine it is much more likely we will pick a Republican.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sahil Kapur is TPM's senior congressional reporter and Supreme Court correspondent. His articles have been published in the Huffington Post, The Guardian and The New Republic. Email him at sahil@talkingpointsmemo.com and follow him on Twitter at @sahilkapur.